Snow
by iMissa
Summary: Hinata has to go out, and she meets Naruto on the way. What could transpire from such an innocent walk? [NaruHina]


Hinata shivered slightly as the snow got thicker and she glanced around her desolately. Her father had sent her out for groceries, and in her haste, the girl had forgotten to grab her winter necessities. _Great_. She thought angrily. _Just great._ Perhaps it'd have been to much to ask for just ONE day of rest; she had a mission in the morning, which the twenty year old ANBU just _knew _was not going to be a fun one. Hinata clutched at her arms and moved them up and down in a furious attempt to warm herself. She was clad only in a long sleeved blue shirt and royal blue training pants, but that didn't keep her from being cold.

She shuddered again as the wind whipped at her hair, moving it aside and attacking her neck ferociously. It was mostly summer in Konoha, but there were those couple of months where the wind bitched and moaned, wreaking havoc upon the tiny village. Hinata found herself longing for summer. Sure, sometimes the heat was unbearable, especially after training, but it was a lot better than this!

She desperately searched the street signs, hoping for a glimpse of the store until finally -aha, success!- she found it. Hinata quickly hurried to it and crammed inside, relaxing as the warmth seeped into her chilly bones. The girl smiled slightly, even humming to herself slightly as she browsed through the shelves. Hinata reached into her pocket and withdrew a crumpled piece of paper. She almost smiled guiltily. In her rush, she must have just grabbed it and stuffed it into her pocket. Oh well; at least it was still legible, so that was a good thing.

Alas, all good things must come to an end, and Hinata rather sadly grabbed her bag of groceries and prepared herself for the coldness. However, once she stepped outside… well, it was almost like stepping into a freezer. The chill stabbed at her skin until she felt almost numb, and a tremor wracked her body as she trudged on. God, it felt as if it had gotten colder!

"Hinata-chan?" A voice inquired, and if possible, Hinata stiffened even more, feeling her face heat up. She prayed to whatever God there was that he just dismissed the flush on her face because of the cold.

"N-Naruto-kun," she stammered, "why are you out here?"

Naruto's eyes narrowed, while hers stared at him enviously. He was buttoned up in a white marshmallow coat that blended in perfectly with the cold translucent stuff on the ground.

"I'm just getting back from Ichiraku." He told her dismissively. "The real question is, why are YOU out here? It's freezing!"

"I know." She muttered bitterly, more to herself than him, but Naruto heard it anyway, and before Hinata could blink he was unzipping his jacket, had taken the bag of groceries from her, and was stuffing her arms into his jacket.

"W-what are you doing?" She asked shakily, trying not to get a head rush from how close he was to her. Naruto didn't answer; he was too preoccupied with zipping up the jacket. The blond shrugged.

"You're cold." He told her simply.

"Not really." She protested, although her teeth may or may not have chattered while saying that.

"Look, Hinata-chan, it's like an igloo out here," he paused, "whatever that is. But anyway, it's like that, and I KNOW you're cold, cause I'm cold just looking at you, so take the jacket." She sighed.

"But then you'll be cold." He shrugged dismissively at her statement. He didn't seem affected by the cold, despite the fact that he was just wearing his normal orange jacket.

"Sasuke-teme's my best friend," Naruto joked, "he brings a whole new meaning of cold, so I'm used to it." A small smile spread across Hinata's face, and she snuggled into the jacket. The opal-eyed girl almost laughed outrageously: his jacket (no surprise here) reeked of ramen. But there was something underneath that…she burrowed herself in deeper, unaware that the boy she loved was watching her with a smile on his face. She decided finally that he smelled like campfires, only not as strong.

"Thank you Naruto-kun." She whispered, and to her amazement, a tiny blush broke across his face, as did a grin.

"Nah, don't worry about it! I'm just glad I could help." There was a comfortable silence for a couple of minutes. "So, you were on your way to your house, right?" He asked, and she nodded. "Okay, well then, lets go!" She noticed that as he said this, he switched her groceries to his left hand.

"You don't have to carry my groceries for me!"

"Well, I want to." He smiled at her. "After all, you seemed cold enough." Hinata returned the gesture, and the two began to walk, although Hinata occasionally glanced at the azure-eyed boy, just to make sure that he wasn't getting frostbite. After a while, she noticed his tan hands had clenched up, and she gently bit her lip. Of course, she could always warm them up, but that would take far more courage than she had the guts for.

As though he had read her mind, Hinata felt a strong, calloused hand slip into her own pale, dainty one, and resisted the urge to gasp and pass out. "Ah, sorry, Hinata-chan. It's just that my hands were getting cold, and, well, two is better than one, right?" She just nodded weakly. Whoa, girl. Slow down, this was a special moment between her and Naruto, and she hoped that there wouldn't be anything to mess it up.

As a particularly strong wind gust rushed past, Hinata unconsciously squeezed Naruto's hand. He glanced at her worriedly. "Are you okay, Hinata-chan?" She just nodded.

"A little cold is all." She admitted. He nodded in understanding, and without warning, she was engulfed in a hug. After a couple of minutes he pulled away, a bright grin on her face and a blush growing across the bridge of his nose. Hinata was slowly counting to 100...backwards.

"Sorry," he apologized sheepishly, rumpling the back of his hair in a gesture of nervousness. Hinata found this comforting, seeing as how he did it all the time. "It's just that you said that you were cold, and I want to warm you up…" He stepped closer to her unconsciously. The Hyuuga heiress licked her lips in her nervousness, feeling the heat radiate from his body. He was so close that she could…she could…she could kiss him. The realization alone made her head spin, and she closed her eyes.

"Naruto-kun…" she whispered, opening her opaque eyes. For once, he was all seriousness.

"What, Hinata?" She searched her brain for something to say, and swallowed hard. No way would she be able to tell him how much she loved him, how much he meant to her, how she would give the world just to be his…

Instead, her eyes flickered around her. "We're at my house." He grinned and stepped back.

"Well then, I'll walk you to your door." He said, and indeed he did. They were just standing there, a slightly awkward silence as they glanced at everything but each other. "Look," he said, pointing above them, "mistletoe." Hinata glanced heavenward and almost died in shock. Oh, God…

She looked directly into eyes so blue that she felt herself getting lost in their depth, and Hinata inhaled deeply. The movement directed his gaze to her lips, and the woman felt rather lightheaded. "You do know what happens if you don't do what the mistletoe says, right?"

"No, what?" She murmured, and he grinned.

"I don't know, but I do know that I'm going to kiss you right now." Hinata barely had time to squeak in shock as soft, warm lips descended upon her own, hesitant at first. The raven-haired female couldn't explain what happened next; all she knew was that she felt strong, stronger than normal, and she responded to his kiss. She leaned backwards, and her back hit the doorframe. Naruto raised his arms so that he was entrapping her waist, his talented lips still searching hers.

They broke apart, and Naruto smiled at her. "Here are your groceries," he said, picking up said items from his side. "Goodnight, Hinata-chan."

"G-goodnight, Naruto-kun." She whispered, watching his retreating back. She waited until he was well out of earshot before glancing up at the poor plant, then stared directly into the trees near her house. "Sakura-chan, Ino-chan, you can come out now." A pink-clad head and a golden-haired female both stepped away from the trees, smiles on their faces.

"Now that," Sakura said, grinning impishly, "is what I call a kiss!"

"I know. I wish Shika-kun would kiss ME like that!" Ino gushed, and despite herself, Hinata smiled at her friends.

"Yeah, Sasuke-kun can be so clammy sometimes!" She sighed. "How come Hinata gets the good guy?"

"I'm just lucky." said the girl, and the other two females giggled.

"Alright, well, we've had enough snooping for tonight. But we'll be looking out for gossip that you and Naruto have hooked up in the next two weeks, and if we don't hear anything, we'll take matters into our own hands once more." Sakura left that warning hanging for her opal-eyed friend.

"See ya tomorrow, Hina-chan!" Ino called out, coming over and grabbing the little piece of mistletoe before linking arms with Sakura, and together, the two of them walked back to their respective houses, chatting away eagerly. Hinata smiled and shook her head, then opened the door. Her father was seated in a chair, reading by the fire, but he looked up when his daughter walked in.

"What took you so long?" He asked her tersely.

"Sorry Father, it took me a while to find the store in the snow." She said softly. He stared at her for a bit before nodding, accepting this.

"Wait, whose jacket is that?" Hinata stiffened.

"I met Sakura-chan on the way, and she handed me her jacket."

"Alright. Go put the food in the kitchen." Hinata nodded, and walked into the kitchen. Once the door was closed, she slid against it and to the floor, a bright smile on her pretty face. She held a hand close to her heart, and gazed out the window. The snow was still falling, but gently, and beyond the veil of darkness you could see the stars twinkling. "I love you, Naruto-kun." she whispered. She would tell him one day, but that day was not today. That didn't make it any less true, though. _I love you, I love you, I love you. _That night, Hinata went to bed, still wrapped in Naruto's warm jacket.

**A/N- Finished, finally! This originally wasn't how it started out. It was really flowing, and then my Microsoft word thing had to shut down. I almost wanted to kick my comp, but that would hurt. So I finally finished it after my chorus show, and tah-dah! Oh, and if any of you are readers of FOMD, the 7th chapter is being typed. I just have a bit of a writers block. But it should be up soon! Anyway, review please, cause this is my first stab in the dark of a NaruHina, so tell me how I did!**


End file.
